The Epic Story of History : Breaking Down & Then Breaking Through

My pathway to teaching seems to be constantly under construction.  Nonetheless, I’m always proud to share that I’m almost a teacher even if there’s been a few long detours.   A few weeks ago, someone asked me why I wanted to be a History Teacher. 

I’ve known forever that I wanted to be a teacher.  I just needed a subject to teach.  My cerebral palsy leaves me with severe learning disabilities in math.  This means that teaching math is out of the question and in order to teach science, its probably fair to say, I’d have to be more than decent at solving equations.  So, when declaring a major it was English or History.  History won because while I love to write, there’s something about interpreting another author’s writing that I don’t like.  This is to say, someone might’ve just written about the blue house on Main Street just because --- there doesn’t always have to be more to the story.   And then, there are critics who argue that misinterpreting an author’s intentions is disrespectful.  Finding Forrester, a movie about an inner city boy and the relationship he establishes with a well – known author captures this point well.  (It’s also a personal favorite!!)  In so many words, History won because it combines my love of reading and writing.  As a Historian, I get to create a story based on facts and evidence.

This is all still true yet, as I constantly reflect on my pathway to teaching as a young disabled woman, I can’t help but consider something even more significant about my study of History.   It is the story of how people beat the odds.   Here’s a historical snap shot.

It’s 1765, the Colonists are angry at Britain. They argue, “ we can’t be taxed without representation and we’ll show you by taxing your paper (Stamp Act). It doesn’t work, so the Colonists head to Boston and kill a few. ….  Friends, the Boston   Massacre killed   five people and it   was completely unnecessary.  Nonetheless, the rage continues. The Colonists are all fired up… They’re   goanna win this fearless fight!   Just watch 18,000 pounds of British tea in the Boston Harbor.  Skip a few years and Thomas Paine’s writing, Hey Friends, its only Common Sense that Revolution is the answer.    It turns out; enough people are willing to fight for the cause.  The odds are clearly stacked against these hopefuls until The Battle of Saratoga when the French decide they’ll help us (The Colonists.)  Sure, there are a few more dreadful battles but the Colonists win!  It was much harder than they’d anticipated but let the nation building begin.  Determined men with a mission of change and freedom found a way through.

 

Most of the time students aren’t super captivated by the story of the American Revolution.  It was SO LONG ago how could it possibly matter to me RIGHT NOW?!  The colonists almost broke down but instead they broke through. Nonetheless, in case you agree with the kids, it was SO LONG ago here’s another historical snapshot.  

The first attempt at school desegregation in Charlotte began in 1957 when Dorothy Counts, the 15-year-old daughter of a Civil Rights activist was the first black student to attend Harding High School.   In the book The Dream Long Deferred her struggles are evident.  The author writes, students crowed around her pelting ice and yelling racial slurs.”  This clearly isn’t the way a young girl wants to enter a school   building but Dorothy Counts COURAGE helped move the school integration  / desegregation process forward. 

 In 1969, the second attempt for school integration was made at West Charlotte using a strategic busing initiative that became a model for the country in beginning school integration. School integration was a complex subject for the Charlotte community because there weren’t many people who   were COURAGEOUS enough to confront the conflict.   Still a few determined people implemented school integration. There was a need for change and a small group of people with vision for a better tomorrow found a way through.  

The study of History is a story of epic emotions.  It is one of the greatest reminders that life’s hardships will cause us to breakdown before we can break through!   It   demonstrates how people turn fear into the strength to overcome adversity.

So perhaps, I long to teach History because in my heart I understand just how determined I was to beat the odds.    Furthermore, I want to share that  HOPE with others. 

In the last few weeks of student teaching, I ran across an article about a local History teacher that had been named North Carolina Teacher of the year.   This beloved teacher was openly admitting that he struggled with drug addiction and depression.  Better yet, he was sharing his story in his new book titled,  TheBalanced Teacher Path.   I haven’t read the book yet but as I wait and wonder about what’s next for me as a teacher with CP it’s another example of what it means to break down and then break through that inspires me! Investing in the EPIC stories of those around us matters. It’s the only way we’ll beat the odds!

You can check out Mr. Ashley’s  article on TheBalanced Teacher Path here…. and then GO BUY THE BOOK!

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/education/article144336674.html

 

A Day Along The Waccamaw : Reflections on a Noble Life

As an undergraduate student I attended a small liberal arts university.  All of my coursework aimed to answer two essential questions.  First, What was the definition of living a noble life?  Second, How would I lead a noble life?   

In my four years at university the noble life was explained to me in three words:  Choices, Values, and Community.  Each semester, I was tasked with taking a class that explored these Core principles on a deeper level.     My Core classes were my most interesting and challenging classes.  They forced me to think of the world not as it was but as it ought to be.   Every professor who taught me the Core curriculum   always reminded me, that there wasn’t a definitive way to lead a noble life.   There were endless possibilities for the way I could impact others if I devoted my life to those three principles. 

This week I had the privilege of meeting two extraordinary educators who have made it their life’s work to celebrate and carry out a vision of what the world ought to look like for students and teachers in our schools.   As we sat along the Waccamaw River Choices, Values, Community, and the Noble Life echoed in my mind.       As I shared my story of being a perspective teacher with cerebral palsy with these extraordinary educators, one of them asked me the message I wanted to T.E.L.L  (Teach Encourage Listen Love) my students.   The question   really makes me think about why my heart beats to teach and learn even though, cerebral palsy (CP) might’ve tried to stack the odds against me.     All things considered, I should’ve been in the 98% of students that dread going to school everyday.  Instead, I was an outlier, one of the few who loved (and still loves going to school).  School wasn’t easy for me as someone who coped with a disability but the more I think about education the more I consider why I love school.    School is the place where I’ve discovered not only what I know but who I am.    It’s the place where people kept T. E.L.L. (ing) me that I could beat the odds. I’ll be the first to admit that encouragement from a teacher always got me further than my Mom’s encouragement because I lived in a home where I understood Mom had an unconditional amount of love for me.     So, her unconditional love obviously carried a bias but my teachers always cared about my success.   Helping students be better people is what we hope all teachers aim to do but, it isn’t a requirement.

As a middle School student I latched on to the ideas of goal setting and the power of positive thinking.  This didn’t happen at school.   It happened in one of life’s most vulnerable moments as a young girl learning how to walk again.   I’ve shared the details of that experience in an earlier  blog post but every time I have the opportunity to share my story it’s in the forefront of my mind because   Renaissance and the T.E.L.L (ing ) messages of hope that came  from  the school building that year is the reason I want to teach.

My day along the Waccamaw  is one that I'll cherish because  others took the time to  Listen and Love   the  message of   hope in my story.     It reminds  me that I have made a conscious Choice to teach because I believe that young people need to be encouraged as they discover the leaders they’ll become.  I Value a strong sense of character and the willingness to set a goal--- even when failure comes before success.    As a teacher, I’ll help students create their vision for how their communities ought to be!  The T. E. L. L  (ing) messages of Renaissance empowered me and I want to pass them on.

Julie, Dr. Denise Forest  ( Founder of the  T.E.L.L  Teach Encourage Listen Love organization )    & Dr. Larry Biddle  (Founder of the Renaissance program )  You can learn  more about the T.E.L.L  organization by checking out this link : http://tellourchildren.org